Only Time Will Tell
by Nikaay.x
Summary: When someone new enters Cloud and Tifa's lives, it's only a matter of time before the truth needs to come out. Who knew one girl could cause so much trouble?
1. Chapter 1

I've had to upload this story again as there were complications on my laptop that caused me to delete it. I'm annoyed because now I've lost all my reviews...I hope that you will all review again. Sorry about all this! Thank you (:

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><p>Hi :)<p>

Well this is my first _**ever**_ fanfiction. Cloud and Tifa..although in this chapter there is hardly any Cloud or Tifa. Mainly a prelude of what's to come. It will contain new characters but they link very well to our very own final fantasy VII crew. Pwomise! It just needs a bit of time before the story can get into gear before you'll fully understand what's going on...it's not an AU but is a kind of "what would happen in the next movie of FFVII if I was in charge" sort of thing..haha.

Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

**Disclaimer**: All FFVII characters are property of square enix. I own nothing other than the creation of my own characters.

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><p><em><strong>Only Time Will Tell<strong>_

_**Chapter 1**_

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><p>Cold. That was it was. Derelict. Unfamiliar. Not a homely face in sight. But what was home? How could she know what home was when she hadn't seen a home in over sixteen years? Lost was what she was. In need of love and care. She had friends..yes, she had friends but for how much longer? How long till they were gone again? Time was of the essence. She had no one to hope for. They soon would be gone too.<p>

She looked up from her crouched position on the floor towards the clock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The cold, derelict and unfamiliar room like an empty void of space staring back at her as time went on.

"Only a matter of time," she barely whispered before she leaned her forehead back onto her knees.

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><p>"Marlene! Denzel!"<p>

"We're coming Tifa!" Marlene shouted from the top of the stairs.

Tifa smiled slightly as the children decended the stairway and made their way to the front of the bar. The children always managed to make her smile on a dreary day like this. It was cold outside as the rain poured down, chattering against the window.

"Smells delicious as always, Tifa," Marlene spoke.

"Nothing but the best for my two favourite customers," Tifa said as she put their food down.

"Where's Cloud?" Denzel asked digging in.

"On a delivery. He had to make an early start, but don't worry he left a message to say he'll be back before dinner," answered Tifa as she moved behind the bar, wiping the surfaces.

"On a delivery..in this weather?" questioned Denzel.

"Well..you know what Cloud is like. He likes to get the job done..and his clients come first no matter what the weather."

"Yeah Denzel..remember..'Strife Delivery Service..you name it we deliver it'. We run a business that it reliable. People should get what they ask for no matter what the weather..right Tifa?" said Marlene, quoting the services slogan whilst holding the biggest grin possible.

"That's right," laughed Tifa as she cheerfully carried on the pleasant conversation with _her_ two children. They were her children as she laughed along with them as they spoke animatedly about school, home life and general chit chat. Everything had been going so wellover tha last few months Tifa thought. Cloud was back. The thought made her smile. Her childhood best friend that she'd been in love with right from the beginning was finally home to live like a real family. Even surprising her with flowers now and then, a kiss on the cheek before he left for work and sometimes small gifts such as a new pair of earrings. Yes, everything was going splendidly. The closeness between them was finally returning. No more awkwardness..no more shying away..just simply Cloud, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene.

Family.

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><p>"Amara, get up!" yelled Cydney, "come on..get a flippin' move on!"<p>

Amara finally got up from her crouched position.

Cydney. One of the friends that Amara had learned shared the same fate as her. By the tone of her voice, you could tell she was not in a pleasant mood.

"Why do you torture youself in this pathetic room all alone? For Gaias sake..you're not the only one in this shitty lifestyle. We gotta survive for each other! If you give up hope, ain't tellin' what else is ganna go wrong. Just pull yourself together alright?"

Amara stared at Cydneys blue eyes as if asking for sympathy . There were no words. She was right. Why waste time? But..when did they know if they were wasting time or not?

"Do you know?"

"Do I know what?" Cydney frustratingly asked as she moved to the window to gain some light within the dark room. She hated it when Amara asked stupid questions.

Amara sighed before asking, "do you know when it's going to happen again?"

"Amara..I-"

"Of course you don't. Forget I asked. Was a stupid question."

Seeing the troubled look on Amaras' face made Cydney feel uneasy. How was she supposed to know when it happened? It just happened when they least expected it. "I hate it just as much as you do. The unknowing, the uncertainty. Whether or not we'll finally make our way home-"

"Home?..How do we know where home is?"

Cydney slightly taken aback from the outspoken Amara, frowned. Amara was never one to be so negative..quiet and restricted from others, yes. But never negative. She had always given them high hopes when they felt like they wouldn't be able to go on. She had leadership skills, she was a fighter and more than that she was a good friend. Why no w was she acting like a pessimist?

"You don't have an answer because we don't have a home. Nothing. That's what we have. No parents, no families just nothing! We're doomed to travel through time without a trace of where we come from and that is that. No one will love us just because there is no time before we move on to another decade, or century or whatever!"

Amara unclenched her fists, unaware that she had tightened them at all, gradually letting the calm sweep over her. The outbust had made her angry. It wasn't fair that they had to live this life with no one around them. They had each other and a few others but it wasn't enough.

Every girl needs a family.

"I'm sorry," Cydney stated before making her way to the door, "I wish I could be more useful." And with that she departed.

Feeling the sudden guilt, Amara began to go after her. She opened the door and shouted Cydneys' name before coming face to face with a bright blinding light. Amara crossed her arms over her face to cover her burning eyes and shining light began to swallow her up. Amara felt a tingling sensation swim through her body and her surroundings began to change.

Everything was disorientated as she began to open her eyes. She was outside she could tell that much as she felt the bitter cold and rain fall upon her skin. Everything was moving to fast to make out a destination. Suddenly black silhouettes taking the formation of broken buildings and rooftops began to appear.

A crumbled city began to make itself clear as Amara slowing walked forward. Rubbish and clutter appeared around her feet. Crushed furnishings, childrens belongings and all other personal possesions surrounded her. A slight pull of her heart tugged her insides as she wondered some more.

Where was she? What had happened here?

Movement around her finally began to cease as she made her way forward. She looked above towards the grey sky noticing what would have been some kind of shelter around this particular area. The unprotected area allowed the rain to fall down her skin making her shiver. It almost looked like a ceiling should have been there above this 'attacked' city..a kind of plate?

Amara continued forward..searching ofr anything to give her a clue to where she was. She once again looked up towards the sky and noticed a rather large buliding..or at least what would have been a very large buliding. Most of it seemed to have been destroyed.

She moved in the direction of the building before a sound beneath her feet made her concentration divert downwards. It looked like some kinda of sign. Amara picked it up and rubbed as much gravel and dirt from the sign as possible.

"Shinra.." she whispered. Amara's eyes widened as she began taking in the destroyed city. A sudden wave of realisation overcome her.

"Midgar."

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><p>"You called for us sir," Rude stated as he entered the presidents office within Healins' walls.<p>

"I did indeed." Rufus Shinra spoke as he finished scribbling down on his paper. Putting his pen down and neatening his papers, he finally looked up. "It seems she has arrived."

"Who sir?" asked a concerned Rude.

"The answer to all our problems."

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><p>Well..Was it okay? (:<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Heyyy! Enjoy guys (:

**Disclaimer**: All FFVII characters are property of square enix. I own nothing other than the creation of my own characters.

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><p><strong><em>Only Time Will Tell<em>**

**_Chapter 2_**

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><p>Cloud Strife entered the Seventh Heaven bar in the middle of the night. Oblivious to the time it was..he looked around to make sure everything was the way it was supposed to be.<p>

He quietly took his shoes off and made his way up the stairs. His first stop was just outside the kids bedroom. He silently opened the door and peered inside. His heart settled a little when he saw both children sound asleep in the twin beds. Both quietly breathing. With a slight smile, he backed away from the bedroom and closed the door.

Cloud made his way to the bathroom. Tossing his clothes aside he climbed into the shower. He allowed the cool water to rinse his skin clean as the thoughts of his rather successful business day came to a close. Silently sighing a content sigh, his mind travelled to more significant things in his life. A year and half had passed since the remnants had arrived. The team had reunited and were once again fighting together. Once again successful.

Cloud turned the showers knob to the left, making the water slightly warmer now. As it slid down his body, he thought about how he and the rest AVALANCHE had once again come together to help Vincent defeat the elite soldiers with Deepground; the Tsviets and Omega. Another triumphunt victory.

Turning the water off completely, he grabbed a towel and dried himself before wrapping the towel around his waist. He grabbed his dirty clothes and tossed them into the washing basket as he made his was to his office. Pulling out a clean t-shirt and a pair of boxers, he slipped them on and made his way down the hall.

It had only been a couple months the regroup of the team and now he was living with his family..safe and sound. Everything was good. Even with him. Cloud could honestly say he was finally good. Mentally and physically. But emotionally?

Tifa.

Things were better weren't they? They were finally going back to the way they were. Tifa was always so trusting, loving, a mother figure, a sweetheart. _His_ sweetheart. Yes..that was what she was. He'd always known it. The effects of geostigma had hurt Tifa bad. Cloud hadn't realised how bad until she had snapped at him the time before he left to face the remnants.

Her words rang loud and clear, "_Which is it? A memory or us_?"

Us.

It's always been us he thought. And he would gladly remind Tifa that this was where he wanted to be. And he had shown her in numerous ways already and just needed to continue to prove it. Did he love her? A thought that had never left his head. After momentarily contemplating the idea he came up with his answer.

"I do."

He quietly made his way outside her bedroom. The door creaked open as he pushed it slightly and slipped inside. _'Stupid creaky door'_ Cloud thought to himself as he approached the bed. He looked down as he saw the beautiful young woman sleeping soundly. He watched her for a moment. Breathing in a rhythmic manner. Her eyes were closed gently as her long eyelashes laid delicately above. Her rosy pink lips slightly pouted as she inhaled and exhaled calmly. Her chest rising gently with each breath. Everything about her screamed utter beauty. How could he have ever doubted his love for her?

After a few more seconds, he made his way around her so he was laying beside her on his side. She remained still other than uttering a small statement, "you're very late," she whispered whilst her eyes remained closed. Tifa moved her hand up to gently caress his cheek. She gave a little smile as she felt the slight roughness of his stubble coming through. He was all man. _Her_ man.

Cloud leaned into her palm and returned the small smile as he lay there next to her, bringing the sheets up to cover him as well.

"I know. I'm back now."

They slept together peacefully.

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><p>There was that cold again. Amara shivered as she made her way through the slums. It was pitch black along the dirty streets as she tried to find somewhere to sleep for the night. Who was she kidding? No one was living in Midgar anymore. Not for at least three and half years. Wasn't there a new city everyone moved to?<p>

Edge. Amara would have to make her way through the dead city if she was ever going to find civilisation again.

"Urhh..a little bit of warning wouldn't hurt!" Amara groaned to herself as she thought about the time warp which had brought her here in the first place. Why? That was all she wanted. Why was she a time warper? Why could she magically travel through time? An answer was long overdue.

The cold was beginning to become unbearable for the young girl. It looked hopeless. Where was Cydney? Where was anyone?

It was too much Amara thought as she shivered hysterically. Before all hope was lost, a structure caught her eye. It had pointed turrets and stain glass windows. Although slightly ruined the building still looked remarkable. A church perhaps? Amara gathered all the energy she had left and made her way inside. Pushing the brown doors to a close, Amara turned around to find a stunning sight. A pool of water surrounded by flowers made itself present as she made her way forward.

Amara enclosed herself with her arms as she realised the cold was beginning to hit her again. She continued to move forward as she stared at the white and yellow flowers all around the pillars and scattered hapharazardly. A slight glow about them. The moon was shining through the broken rooftop of the church as the reflection glistened on the surface of the pool. Amara gazed at the water as she crouched down before placing a finger on the water creating ripples.

"Beautiful," she gasped. It was. Nothing so simple had ever made her smile. At least not for a long time.

She looked around some more before her eyes made her way to a sleeping bag and a lantern near the right side of the pool. Amara made her way to the supposed sleeping area. Who would live in a run down abandoned church? At least she wouldn't be completely cold for the night.

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><p>Rufus paced around his office. Not since the remnants had he felt such uneasiness. How could he come back? Not after he'd been destroyed three times before. And none other by the infamous Cloud Strife. But now this new young girl had a part to play. And that he was sure about. He raised his arm to rub his temple before a knock on the door disrupted his thoughts.<p>

"Come in."

Tseng made his way through the threshold approaching the president.

"I assume you bring good news," Rufus said his eyes fixated on the outside world.

"Yes Sir. We located the girl. Sector 5."

"Interesting," the president smiled. Of course she would feel something there, "the church?"

"Yes," replied Tseng, "however, the girl isn't alone. There are others."

"No matter. Just bring her to me."

Tseng nodded and turned on his heel. Even though he would never question the presidents wishes, he couldn't help but feel there was something he knew that the rest of them didn't.

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><p>The sun shone through the rooftop of the church onto a sleeping Amara as she slept soundly. The light starting to seep through her closed eyelids, she woke quietly, stretching slightly as she did. Quietly gazing once again at the pool, her thoughts were distracted by a creak of the floorboards. She instantly looked towards the door..nothing. Moving slowly behind a pillar she awaited what ever was approaching.<p>

_Someone's there _she thought.

As the figures moved closer she got ready to attack. No one was in Midgar. So who was here?

Before she had a chance to strike, a hand grabbed her by the wrist bringing her face to face with a knowing face.

"Kaine?"

"Good god girl! What did ya think? I was going to attack ya or somethin'," Kaine said as he released her wrist. "Do you know how long its taken me to find ya'? As soon as the light came I knew we were in for som' trouble."

"How did you know where to look?"

"I didn't. Searched everywhere girl. I'm just glad we're back together."

"Yeah," Amara agreed as her afro haired friend made his way to the pool. She had known Kaine almost all her life. Like brother and sister. Almost inseparable. Speaking of sisters?

"Have you seen Lianna? Or Cydney?" she asked.

"Nah."

"Oh," she sighed. Same routine. Time travel then the group separates. Figures.._nothings ever simple is it._

" Don't worry. We always find them in the end. Should be used to this by now Amie," Kaine said with a smirk.

Used to this. How can anyone be used to this?

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><p>"Mmm..pancakes," Marlene said as she inhaled the heavenly scent of chocolate chip pancakes being cooked on the stove. Tifa was the most amazing cook. Ever.<p>

"I was in a good mood..and a good mood means pancakes," Tifa said as she carried on whipping the batter.

"I'm glad Tifa. Shall I go wake the boys?"

"No..its okay. Let them sleep. It's not every day they get a lie in."

Just as Marlene was about to protest that Denzel slept in almost everyday, the door opened revealing a lanky red haired man in a black suit entering the tavern along with his bald associate.

"Morning ladies," Reno cooned, walking up to a stool just in front of the bar.

Rolling her eyes, Tifa replied "Good morning. You do know we're not open."

"That's alright. We didn't come here for the drink, we came for the company. Ain't that right darlin'," Reno chanted whilst looking at Marlene. Not amused by Reno's forwardness she simply rolled her eyes as if imitating her mother figure and moved behind the bar to stand alongside Tifa.

"Well sorry, bars closed so I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Tifa said glacing at the two turks, "you're welcome back later if you wish."

"No worries Tifa. It was merely a flying visit," Rude said as he stared at her behind darkened shades, "we won't bother you."

Tifa knew that Rude had a soft spot for her. She gave him a thanking smile before carrying on with the cooking. Rude pulled Reno's arm signalling it was time for them to leave.

"Wait! I didn't get to ask where loverboy was?" Reno exclaimed as he was being yanked by his comrade.

"Right here," came a voice that was distictively known as Cloud. Making his way through the bar. Tifa looked up trying to see if Cloud had a problem with the two turks in the tavern. He seemed to be okay..for now. Cloud moved passed the turks to stand behind the bar next to Tifa and Marlene, lightly placing a kiss to the side of Tifa's head and ruffle of Marlenes hair..his way of saying good morning.

"Well if it isn't . The high and mighty, the big cheese, the one and only-"

"What do you want?" Cloud interupted quickly getting annoyed by the red haired man. Not only was he asking for a beat but he was ruining his day with his family. He couldn't be bothered with the turks, they only seemed to bring trouble.

"As if you don't know," Reno replied with a smirk.

"If I knew, why would I ask?"

Reno released his arm from Rudes grip and adjusted his attire then cleared his throat. He made his way over to the bar and set himself down again on a bar stool. Cloud eyed him up as he casually relaxed himself as if he was welcome here. What was he up to?

"Seems as if theres something new brewing here in Edge," said Reno, his eyes glaring back at the swordsman.

"Meaning..?" Tifa asked as she put down her whisk and made her way over to face the turk.

"Some new secret weapon that's caught our attention. Whether it's good or bad yet is unknown, but Shinra wants it, so I guess it's up to you what you want to make of it." Reno chuckled after that facing Rude who was blankly staring back._ There was no need to involve Cloud and Tifa _he thought to himself. Yet knowing Reno he would love nothing more than to piss Strife off.

"Marlene, can you go upstairs whilst we talk please," Tifa said. Marlene gave a simple nod before vacating the space, leaving the adults alone to talk.

"Alright Reno. What do you want? And what's this so called secret weapon," asked Tifa, her tone of voice starting to change from sweet and calm to annoyed and anxious. "Knowing that you and Rufus Shinra are involved makes me feel uneasy," she retorted.

"No need for that love." Cloud twitched at the way he Reno said that. What the heck was this guys angle?

"Just keep up your guard, s'all I'm saying."

"You're hiding something," Cloud said matter of factly. After a few moments of silence Cloud spoke, "what ever you and Shinra have planned keep it away from us." Cloud moved away from the bar towards the door and opened it. "Leave."

Reno and Rude didn't have to be told twice. They made their way to the door and exited, the only sound was Reno's laugh as he walked out of the bar. Before Rude left he looked over his shoulder towards where Tifa was standing.

"Be careful," and with that he left.

Cloud shut the door, letting out an exasperated sigh before making his way back to Tifa. She looked distressed. And he knew why. Finally after everything had been going so well for them, the turks had come and interupted their perfect world. Cloud placed his hand on her shoulder as she turned around to face him. She looked up to him, ruby red meeting ice blue and she hugged him tightly.

"What do you think they meant?" she asked as she snuggled closer.

"I don't know." Cloud took Tifa at arms length and looked down at her, "no matter what it is, we'll deal with it."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

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><p>"What are you doing?" Amara asked Kaine as he climbed up one of the churchs' pillars and made his way to the rooftop.<p>

"Trying to see if we can get to this town Edge."

What were they going to do in Edge anyway?

After a while, Kaine jumped down, slightly startling Amara.

"Well, couldn' see nothin'. Maybe we should just walk around for abit"

"What? And get lost. Why not just stay here and wait for the light to swallow us back up again?" sneered Amara.

Confused by her negative attitude Kaine walked over to her.

"Hey, what's wrong Amie? You're never so down in the dumps. Aren't ya always the one saying 'yeah co'mon guys, we've come 'ere for a reason'? You're like the pack leader. Why ya givin' up hope?"

"Because i'm sick and tired of being the one who always has to smile and the one to say everything will be alright because it won't be. I want to know where I come from, and whether or not I have a family. I'm just tired."

Amara could feel the sting of the tears behind her eyelids. Before she knew it, she felt strong arms pulling her into an embrace.

"Hey hey! No need for cryin'! Ya have a family. Me, Lianna, Cydney and Seth. We all 'ere for ya." Kaine held her tighter. She was right though. When would they ever find home?

It seemed like hours had passed as Kaine and Amara sat near the pool of water and spoke about their life's adventures so far. They were so young yet had seen a great deal of things.

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><p>"Hey I gotta question," Kaine asked.<p>

"What?" replied Amara with a smile. She seemed to have cheered up.

"Ya know that glowin' in your eyes...does it ever sting or anythin'?"

"No not really. It's just there I guess. I've always had it ever since I can remember."

"Is that why ya can see so much better than the rest of us?"

"Maybe. I don't know." It was true..Amara had a ring of an emerald green colour that would glow around her eyes, and she could see alot better than the rest of her friends apart from Lianna who had the same glow around much darker blue eyes than her own. Both could see great distances and did seem to have impecible strength for two teenage girls..but it was one of those many unanswered questions that she had locked away inside.

"Anyways..maybe we should start lookin' for the others. They gotta be round 'ere somewhere."

"Yeah, okay."

As they stood up and made their way to the exit, the double wooden doors opened. Two men entered carrying some sort of weapons. They moved closer, eyeing the two teenagers carefully. Both dressed in black suits, started walking a little faster.

Kaine grabbed Amara's wrist and backed away gently. This didn't look like a friendly visit.

"Woah. So you really are here hey?" the redhaired man spoke to Amara. She was confused. No one had ever asked for her or known she was anywhere. She didn't really exist. So how did this man know?

"No need to worry, we just need to take you back to our boss. He wants a word," Reno said as he made his way towards the teenagers.

Amara backed away when the red head kept creeping closer. She shook her head fiercely.

"No," Amara said.

"What makes ya think she's goin' with you?" added Kaine.

"Listen kid, I ain't here for you, just her," said Reno as he pointed his electromagnetic rod towards Amara. _They want to kidnap me? _

"Yeah well she ain't goin' nowhere!" Kaine yelled. Before Amara realised what was going on, Kaine threw himself at the redhaired man, swinging his fists all over the place. Kaine grabbed his knuckle buster and rammed it into Reno's stomach. Amara didn't have time to think before she was being tackled by a bald man wearing dark shades.

"Yeah Rude, get her!"

Amara tried to kick him off but her legs were trapped underneath his weight.

"Get off!"

Rude only grunted before Amara shoved her foot his face, consequently earning a crack. _Ouch! Must've be his jaw_ she thought. She squeezed herself out of Rude's grasp and made a run for the door._ Wait, where are my swords._ She searched the room for her two kampilan swords. She must have left them near the sleeping area. She quickly ran back grabbing the swords and tossing one into a spinning frenzy. Reno and Rude watched from their beaten states as the sword swerved around in a sort of boomerang shape cutting the rope hanging the chandelier above them.

"Uh oh."

The chandelier broke and came tumbling down on top of them causing waves of dust around the church room. Amara jumped up grabbing her sword and came down. Kaine stood up and he and Amara made a break for the door.

"What the hell was that all about!" Kaine yelled as they ran.

"I have no idea! But someone knows we're here!" Amara replied. They came to a stop in front a of black van. Kaine through Amara a knowing look before they both jumped into the van and made a quick getaway. Amara opened the window and glanced back at the church. Why did this suddenly feel surreal? She crinkled her brow. If someone knew they were here, did that mean they knew her they were?

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><p>"Where are we going?" Amara asked, breaking the almost half hour silence.<p>

"Edge."

"How do you know where it is?"

"I'm guessin' it's the big city in front of us."

Amara looked through the window and saw the outlines of buildings coming into place. It was just as dull and superficial as the wrecked city they had just fled. It looked so miserable.

"I have a feelin' those guys didn't just let us go," Kaine spoke as he swerved a car round a corner. People fled and got out of the way as the black van it'd way down the narrow street. Amara could people shouting. _Watch where you're going! Are you crazy? What the heck?_ Suddenly, Kaine brought the van to a stop and turned to Amara.

"They don't seem to be interested in me. They're after ya." Amara nodded as she understood what he meant. She got out of the van and moved to the otherside so she was now on the driver side of the vehicle. "I'll drive around for a bit and try to make them lose ya scent." He put his hand out of the window allowing Amara to hold it. He gently squeezed it before saying, "keep yerself hidden and stay safe. I'll give ya a call when I get back."

She moved away from the van and watched it make it's way out of the street. Amara didn't waste any time. She moved through alleyways not once stopping. She needed to get away. Moving in between people she finally had to stop to catch her breath. She bent over placing her hand on her knees, breathing rapidly as the oxygen made it's way back into her lungs. After a few moments, she looked up.

_I need a place to hide _she thought as she gazed at the building in front of her. She looked around once more to make sure no one was actually following her before making her way inside the seventh heaven bar.

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><p>Ooo Cloud and Tifa are finally about meet the newbie! ;)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Hiii :D

**Disclaimer**: All FFVII characters are property of square enix. I own nothing other than the creation of my own characters.

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><p><em><strong>OnlyTime Will Tell<strong>_

_**Chapter 3**_

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><p>Amara stepped through the door and entered the bar. It was busy with people. She looked around to find men drinking away their sorrows, women have a girly night out and even some families sharing a meal together. It was…nice.<p>

Realising she was in the way of the door she made her way to a corner table. Only the men seemed to notice her with their wondering eyes. She gave a look of disgust before settling down by herself, hoping to keep a low profile. The bar was bursting with laughter and chatter. Amara smiled slightly to herself. She quietly mocked at how these people took what they had for granted. A night out to a bar without a care in the world, that was the life right? She would never have this. She leant back against the chair and silently watched.

Time seemed to pass slowly as Amara kept glancing over the customers. The bar was getting emptier as the time went on. She continued to watch them and to some extent she envied them all. Their life was simple. That's all she wanted. As she continued to think, her trance was suddenly broken as she heard voices rising.

"How about another drink love?" a rather drunk man commented to the barmaid. Amara looked over to where the drunk had spoken, in a rather loud tone, making the dark haired bar maid turn around.

"I think that's enough for you Bert. Maybe you should head home now, it's getting late," the barmaid stated before moving on to another customer. Before she could go on, the drunken Bert grabbed her wrist over the bar.

"Ah c'mon, you know you want to," he said back to her as he stumbled forward.

This wasn't the first time Tifa had had a problem with a drunken customer and it certainly wouldn't be the last. She tried to release her arm from the man's grip but was having difficulty. He was stronger than she thought. The only way to shake him off was to shove him off and that could cause a scene. That was the last thing she wanted.

"Bert, please let go. You need to go home now." The barmaid was seriously able to keep her cool Amara thought. But then running a business such as this required a headstrong person.

_Maybe she needs some help._

Before Amara could help the young barmaid, a blonde haired man came through the door and advanced towards the situation. Amara stared wide eyed. This man had hair sticking out in almost every direction, slightly resembling a golden chocobo; she smiled at the similarity between the two. How did hair like that manage to stay in that way? His eyes were a fierce cobalt blue that had a sort of...glow? A rather large sword was tied in a harness behind his back. How could anyone wield such a weapon? Amara continued to stare at the man as he literally picked up the drunken Bert and shoved him outside.

The remaining customers returned back to their conversations, acting as if nothing had happened at all. _Guess that's the norm around here._

Amara's eyes went back to the couple behind the bar. The blonde haired man gave the raven haired woman a quick peck on the cheek before retreating up a set of stairs, the sound of his footsteps getting quieter and quieter as he continued further up.

Amara noticed two children make their way down the stairs shortly afterwards. One a boy and the other a girl. Ages around nine and seven respectfully. They went around the other side of the bar and hugged the bar maid.

"Tifa, Cloud brought us back sweets all the way from Costa Del Sol," the young boy stated.

"Yeah, salt water taffy. It's delicious!" the little girl said, smiling sweetly.

"Be sure to save me a piece you little rascals. Hey, look at the time. It's almost time for bed. Off you go, brush your teeth and I'll be ready to tuck you in soon, okay?" Tifa replied.

"Alright," both children responded back in unison.

Before making her way up the stairs, Marlene noticed a pretty girl in the corner, staring in her direction. The girl put her head down, as if she didn't want to be seen. Ignoring what Tifa had said about bed, Marlene made her way towards the young girl.

Amara saw the little girl approaching_. Why is she coming towards me?_

Marlene came to the table and smiled.

"Hi there," she greeted, "I've never seen you in here before. Are you new to the area?"

Amara had never come across such a sweet little girl. She couldn't be older than seven years old yet spoke in such a refined manner. It was surprising. After a moments silence she finally answered.

"Hi, umm, yes. I'm new."

"Where are you from?"

"Nowhere you would know."

"Oh. Well, would you like something to eat or drink?"

It was a contradiction to her thirst and rumbling stomach but Amara replied back with a "No thank you." She didn't need any attention brought towards her.

Tifa looked up, taking a quick break from picking up the glasses from nearby tables when she noticed Marlene talking with a strange teenage girl. Tifa had never seen that girl before. She had silky black hair similar to hers that fell just beneath her shoulders, one side of it pulled back on the side of her head with a blue butterfly clip, her bangs lightly falling above her eyes. She had two swords strapped to her back. What was a young girl like her doing with such dangerous weaponry? Suddenly alarmed that Marlene was still talking to the girl, Tifa decided to intrude. The girl noticed her coming and their eyes met in one quick glance.

Tifa noticed her electrifying eyes with a ring of bright green circling her irises. A sort of familiarity filled Tifa. _Mako infused eyes_? She shook off the feeling and carried on forward.

Amara kept her head down as the barmaid stood beside the table. She looked up slowly to meet the woman's gaze and was welcomed back with warm ruby chocolate eyes. The woman gave her a light smile before asking, "is there anything I can get you? Sorry I didn't notice you before. This table is tucked away quite snugly here in the corner."

Nervously shaking her head, Amara answered back, "No thank you. I'm just waiting for someone."

"Are you sure? Nothing at all?"

_Why is this lady being so nice?_

"No, honestly, thank you though."

"Okay, well, we're closing early tonight. Family night," Tifa said with a smile once again. _Family..._

"You're welcome to stay till then." She turned to Marlene, "I thought I told you to get to bed missy. Off you go."

Marlene gave a heart filled smile to the young girl again before turning around to carry on up the stairs.

"Oh! You never told me your name. I'm Marlene," Marlene said.

Amara looked towards the girl before returning the smile she just gave and answered the young girls' enquiry.

"Amara, but everyone calls me Amie."

"That's such a nice name...Amara. Well, good night Amie! Hopefully I'll see you again soon." And with that she ran up the stairs.

Amara could still feel the pull of her lips. Smiling? It was so unlike her. But the child was so cute, it was hard not to smile when she was around.

The time went on.

Amara took out her phone and placed it on the table. Nothing. No messages, no missed calls. Where was Kaine? Was he alright? And how much longer would she be allowed to stay here? The next time Amara looked at the clock, it read exactly eleven. She seemed to be the only one left. The barmaid, Tifa, was putting the chairs up around the bar, sweeping under the tables. Amara studied her. Maybe she could use some help.

Tifa looked up to the young girl and was shocked that a teenager had just offered her help to _**clean**_. Maybe not all teenagers were moody and unhelpful.

"That would be appreciated Amara, thank you."

"Please, call me Amie."

"Alright, Amie."

Tifa handed her another broom as they both swept the floor.

"How old are you hun?" Tifa asked.

"Oh, I'm almost seventeen."

"What are you doing at a bar this time of night? Where are your parents?"

The question caught a lump in her throat. She didn't want her to feel sorry for her but there was no need to lie to such a nice person.

"I don't have any. I'm an orphan," Amara quietly answered not meeting Tifa's sympathetic gaze.

"I'm sorry," a guilty Tifa said.

"It's not your fault. No need to apologise."

Silence.

"Well looks like we're done for the night. Thank you for the help. Sweeping normally takes me ages."

"Wasn't a problem," Amara said with a small smile.

"Who are you waiting for?" Before Amara had a chance to answer she heard someone coming down the stairs. Perhaps one of the children? She looked toward the archway where the stairs connected with the bar room, and saw the blonde haired man come through.

"Tifa, I don't know which one looks- " Cloud stopped what he was saying when he noticed another dark haired girl standing in the room. Amara stared back at the young man.

"Who's this?" Cloud asked Tifa as he came to stand next to her.

"This is Amara, Cloud. She was just helping me clean up."

Amara smiled slightly at Cloud. When he simply stared back her, she felt sort of uneasy around him. He gave off a certain vibe, as if he thought she was a threat to his family. She would assure him she meant no harm if that was the case.

Amara stared at her feet, shifting them slightly. Cloud was still staring at her. Deciding to be brave, she dared herself to look back up to meet his gaze.

His eyes...they were glowing. She hadn't been mistaken before.

Cloud noticed how the young girl was looking at him, as if she was in absolute awe.

"Is there something on my face?" he finally asked her.

"No...no. Sorry, I didn't mean to stare," not wanting to strike up a conversation about his eyes, she decided that it might be best if she left. _He doesn't seem to want me here anyway_.

"Umm, thanks for everything Tifa. I should get going." Turning back to the table she went to retrieve her phone. Still no messages. She'd have to find somewhere to stay for the night. As if by reading her mind, Tifa came up behind her.

"Do you have somewhere to go tonight?"

"Umm, I'll make do. Don't worry about me."

Just then there was a knock on the door. All three stared for a moment. Tifa looked towards the clock.

"It's almost half eleven...who would be here now?"

"It may be Vincent," Cloud replied.

"Vincent?"

"Yeah. He wanted to talk to me."

"Well, okay. Couldn't he have phoned?"

Cloud turned to Tifa and smirked. _Right_ she thought. Vincent barely spoke let alone on a phone.

Cloud walked towards the door, eyeing Amara, before reaching for the handle and turning it. It was none other than Vincent Valentine. He simply nodded at Tifa before moving inside the tavern slowly.

Scared that she might interrupt what seemed like a private meeting, Amara moved towards Tifa. Tapping her shoulder, Tifa turned around. "I should be on my way. Thank you again."

"Wait, you obviously don't have a place to go...stay here for the night. Maybe I can help you find who you're looking for tomorrow?"

More kindness.

"But I'm a stranger to you."

"Nonsense. I'll talk to Cloud. I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

Before Amara could protest, Vincent made his way over.

"This is her."

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other before turning back to Vincent.

"What are you talking about Vincent? Tifa asked as she put her hand on the young girls arm. An act of comfort. Amara looked at Tifa and found herself smiling on the inside. Never in her life had she ever found someone quite like her. Comforting a complete stranger. She really was a strange sort. But in a good way.

"Shinra. He wants her."

All eyes were on Amara. Oh no. That's it. They were going to toss her on the street. She was too much trouble; she'd only ruin their family and perfect life. Her heart started pounding uncontrollably. They were looking at her like some kind of fugitive. She'd done nothing wrong. Heck, she'd only been in this city for a couple of hours and apparently she already had enemies.

Not a very good day.

* * *

><p>"You let her escape."<p>

Rufus Shinra simply stated before moving again to look out of his office window.

Reno still holding a bloody tissue against his bruised nose, sat on the chair in front of Shinras' desk.

"That girl was a skilled fighter. And she had a bully of an accomplice," Reno said as he dabbed at the blood still trickling from his nose.

"You do realise you're talking about a sixteen year old girl."

"Look, she got away. So now what?"

At just that moment, Tseng entered the room, rolling his eyes sarcastically at his red headed co-worker. It was obvious Reno shouldn't have been trusted to carry out such a simple mission. His incompetence always seemed to shine on through.

"Elena and I will handle it from here."

Rufus raised his head. He slightly looked over his shoulder to look at Tseng.

"I have no doubt...Just..."

"Just..." Tseng prompted, slight worry echoed in his voice.

"Watch yourself of Strife."

"Sir..." Tseng needed some answers, "how does the girl link to Strife and the others?"

Rufus turned his back to the window. He couldn't let too much slip now or else risking it all coming out. It was restricted information. The president brought his arms around his back locking his hands together before letting out a deep sigh.

"All will be revealed...all in good time. You'll see."

* * *

><p>Vincent pulled Amaras' arm and sat her down on the small couch within Cloud's office. Amara was scared. There was no doubt about it. Here she was in a house full of strangers who had now, apparently taken her hostage, yet somehow she'd still manage to stay the bad guy. She gave a slight shake of her head. How could this be happening? <em>Wasn't I just hiding out?<em>

It wasn't long before Tifa and Cloud had joined them in the room. Tifa entered then shut the door behind her.

"The kids are sleeping so please try to keep it down."

Vincent moved away and backed himself into a corner. It was Clouds turn to talk.

Cloud scratched the back of his head and sighed. He'd only just met the girl, yet had to interrogate her for information. He didn't even know what he wanted to find out. Cloud gave her a quick glance. She looked terrified, maybe even shaking slightly. What could Shinra possibly want with her? He felt sorry for her, if anything this wasn't her fault. She was just another pawn for Shinra to use in their evil game. Shinra would never change...that was a fact. That was when he noticed her eyes. The glow. He'd only seen it every day when he would look into the mirror to see similar eyes staring back. A teenage girl...had been injected with mako? Clouds brow wrinkled with confusion. There was no way she could have been with SOLDIER. Cloud rubbed the back of his neck. He suddenly wanted to know a lot more about this girl.

"There has to be a reason as to why Shinra would be interested in you?"

Stunned suddenly by Cloud's sudden outburst, Amara looked up and blinked several times whilst her brow creased, revealing her frustration. She didn't have an answer for him. Shinra wanted her and now everyone hated her. She felt even more lost than she did before. Not only was she alone but now these people were suggesting she was hiding something.

"Well..." Cloud prompted when Amara didn't answer.

"I don't know," she said without meeting his gaze, focusing on the floor. "I'd just arrived in Midgar and those men showed up to take me away. I've never stepped foot in this city in my entire life!"

"Turks don't just pick up kids off the street, and what were you doing in Midgar? It's a destroyed city."

Suddenly furious with Cloud and his constant accusations, Amara stood up to face him. Her nervousness gone.

"I don't have to answer to you. You barely know me! Just let me go, then I'll be on my way and we can pretend like I never intruded in your life, okay?"

"Wait!" Tifa exclaimed, "you're obviously in some kind of trouble, maybe we can help you?"

"No...as I said don't worry about me. I don't want to cause you any discomfort. Besides, I don't think your husband likes me very much."

"Oh no, we're not married."

Rather shocked, Amara raised her eyebrows, as she moved forward towards the door.

"Whatever, I'm gone."

Just as she was about to turn the handle to leave, a loud sound was heard from downstairs. A door had just been broken.

"Strife! We know she's here!" Tseng's voice yelled.

Panic shot through Amara as she backed away from the door. They really were after her. What had she done?

"Hide!" Tifa said as she grabbed Amara's wrist. "Go down the hall and hide in my room."

"Tifa," Cloud interrupted, "helping this girl could welcome unwanted trouble."

"So? I'm just supposed to let them take her...as of yet, she's done nothing wrong. Get rid of them and then we'll find out what's going on."

Instead of letting Amara get caught, she escorted the young girl herself to her bedroom to make sure she was well hidden.

"She has a heart of gold," stated Vincent.

Cloud sighed, "I know. It's going to be the death of us one day."

* * *

><p>"Search the rooms."<p>

Tseng sent the other men he had brought with him to raid the rooms. If Cloud Strife had anything to do with this then he was almost certain he would have the girl well hidden. Speaking of the devil...

"Get out!"

"I'll leave just as soon as you hand over the girl."

"What are you talking about? There is no girl here." Cloud wasn't going to give anything away to this guy.

"Do you take me for a fool, Strife? I know she's here."

"She's not hiding in the back," Elena called as she made her way towards the two men, coming from the storage rooms.

"Check upstairs."

"There's no one here! Just me and my family! Now leave!" Cloud yelled loudly.

Completely ignoring Cloud, Elena and Tseng made their way up the stairs.

"Search everywhere Elena." Elena nodded before entering one of the rooms.

* * *

><p>Kaine ran as fast as could back through the side streets. <em>She needs ma help!<em> He thought as he kept running. As soon as he heard those so called 'Turks' talking about how they wanted to capture a new threat, a young teenage girl, with a rather long description describing someone that sounded very much like Amara, he knew he had to reach her before they did. Kaine pulled out his phone, still no messages. He knew he had to find her...he just prayed it wouldn't be too late.

* * *

><p>Amara held her hand over her mouth as she heard movement in the other rooms, trying as best as she could to quieten her heavy breathing. Swallowing, she tried to peek through the cupboard that Tifa had managed to stuff her into. Pushing aside the clothes she saw a light turn on as a blonde woman entered the room. She had rather short hair and was wearing the same suits as the men earlier had worn. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she could barely breathe. <em>What's going to happen to me?<em> She thought as the woman carried on searching the room. How many more places were there left to look before she opened the cupboard?

_That's it...I'm dead...they're going to take me...why, oh god why?_

Just then, Tifa stepped into the room wearing a bath robe, as if she was ready to sleep. Was this really the time to go to bed?

"Elena, can I help you?" Tifa asked sheepishly as she moved to her mirror to brush out her hair.

"Where's the girl Tifa?"

"What girl?"

Elena rolled her eyes, "Do you honestly think we don't see past your little act. You may be able to get past all the men but I'm not one of the guys. I see right through all the innocence," Elena replied spitefully.

"Could have fooled me Elena, that suit is extremely flattering by the way, really brings out your feminine side" Tifa said with a small cheeky smile, she knew she was annoying the Turk.

Forgetting her job, Elena walked up to Tifa and stood behind her. As Tifa continued to brush her hair she watched the Turk approach her and watched her through the mirror. Elena now stood directly behind Tifa and glared at her before saying sadistically, "You better watch yourself; Strife isn't always going to be there to protect you." And with that she walked away and out of the room.

Amara, having witnessed the whole thing through the wardrobe, couldn't believe how nasty the Turk had been. What kind of people were they anyway? They had no right to talk to anyone like that, let alone barge into someone's home. Amara carried on listening, trying to hear what was being said below. With what it seemed like angry words, there was a slam of a door and silence. Afraid to move, Amara stayed where she was, trying to catch her breath. She had almost been caught...and she had no doubt they'd come looking again.

A sudden knock on the door startled both Amara and Tifa.

"Tifa, can I come in?" It was Cloud.

"Y-yes...come in."

Tifa, clearly shocked by what Elena had said, moved to her bed and sat on the side. A sudden feeling of dread passed through her body. Elena had in a roundabout way had just threatened her, what did the Turks know that she didn't? She sighed to herself as the door opened and Cloud walked in. _Strife isn't always going to be there to protect you..._Nothing was going to happen to Cloud, Tifa assured herself as he made his way to where Tifa was sitting.

Unable to meet his gaze she remained focus in front of her.

"Tifa, they're gone," Cloud spoke.

She nodded as she smiled softly, still not looking at him. Noticing her shyness, Cloud asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing..."

"You can't lie to me Tifa. What happened?"

She let a deep sigh leave her as she looked towards him, his electrifying eyes finally meeting hers.

"Nothing happened, I just...feel that they know something we don't."

"And that makes you uneasy?"

"Yes. I don't..." Tifa said unable to finish.

"You don't..." Cloud prompted.

"I don't want this to disrupt our family."

Amara slid down against the wardrobe wall and collapsed onto the floor. Family...she would be the reason why this family would have problems. She wouldn't allow that to happen...even if she had to turn herself in.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading (: Please review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

I'm so excited for this chapter, it starts to tell a little bit about the past of the new characters, mainly Lianna and Amara. Also has some important events as well :) All so very exciting! Just with the story as well, there's a lot of time shifting from past, present and future which will happen throughout so be prepared.

*- Past event _(italics) _anything else in Italics is just a thought/memory/dream and all that jazz :P you've managed to understand it all up to this chapter...hopefully it won't be too confusing.

Hope you enjoy it (:

**Disclaimer**: All FFVII characters are property of square enix. I own nothing other than the creation of my own characters.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Only Time Will Tell<em>**

**_Chapter 4_**

* * *

><p>She ran and ran until her legs began to lose feeling. Her heart pounding as she panted heavily through the streets of Edge. Lianna made her way through the alleyways ignoring anyone on her pathway. Casually making her way past the careless drunks, the unwanted beggars and the unfortunate homeless, she continued to trek forward. Pulling out her phone, the violet eyed girl dialled a familiar number, and awaited the voice on the receiving end.<p>

"Hello?"

"Cydney, a bar called Seventh Heaven, go now!"

"Are you sure?"

"Kaine informed me, just move."

Putting away her phone, Lianna turned the corner and stopped, tucking herself nicely behind a dustbin as she faced her front. She made out two figures exiting a building; the Seventh Heaven bar. The figures made their way towards a black car, parked directly outside. Squinting slightly so she could make out their faces, Lianna listened intently.

"What do we tell the president?" Elena asked, making her way to the passenger side.

Tseng opened the driver's door, "we tell him that Strife is hiding her."

"But we didn't find anything."

"She's there. All we need is back up, maybe even some leverage for Strife to finally except that he can't protect this girl and his family."

"Leverage? You mean..."

"The children."

"And if that doesn't work?" Elena asked.

"Then...Tifa."

Elena smirked as she got into the car, as did Tseng. They knew that Cloud would eventually give up the troublesome teenager, nothing was more important than his family and to his disadvantage – everyone knew it and would use it against him.

Lianna waited until the car was out of sight before making her way towards the entrance of the bar. From what she had heard, they were only after to Amie. Did that mean that they didn't know there were others like her? Or was it simply that Amie was a lot more important? Either way, the situation was getting out of hand, and she didn't like it.

Lianna made her way towards the windows and ducked down so she was out of sight. Looking around to make sure there was no one around, she peered inside.

_Do not do anything drastic..._

Lianna shook her head, as the voice spoke in her head. "I won't."

_Only do what you must, a family's life could be changed if you interfere too much..._

"I promise I won't interfere. I'm only here for Amie." Lianna sighed to herself as the planet spoke to her yet again. As if she didn't know what the consequences were if she meddled. She could hinder time warpers' very existence if she mentioned it to others. She had promised, or rather had been forced not to take chances that could ruin anyone's lives in different times. Time travelling could cause damage. Severe damage.

Lianna continued to stare into the bar, as she thought about the Lifestream. The planets blood, the power source, the very essence of the worlds being. She had been told that she was special. She had been chosen for a purpose. Not only had she been chosen, she and her friends had been stolen. Still to this day she doesn't know why. Lianna swallowed. She vividly remembered...

'_The children sat in silence as they awaited the professors' return. Another day had passed since they had been in this bitter, horrible place. Training had become unbearable especially for Lianna. She looked to her left as Amara cradled herself in her arms, she was shaking again. _

"_Amie? You okay?" she asked as she lightly tapped her friends arm. _

_Amara shook her head. She wasn't okay. She didn't want to be experimented on again and she envied Lianna for being so calm. _

"_Anna, why are we different?" Amara questioned as she lifted her head up slowly, "why can we see better, and hear more clearly a-and are stronger than the boys, I-I don't understand?"_

"_Because..." how could she answer her best friend when she didn't even know. "Because we're special Amie."_

"_Special?"_

_Just as Lianna was about to agree, the door opened revealing the professor._

"_Bring them." He said as he pointed at the two girls sitting on the floor. Lianna held Amara's hand as they made their way towards the lab, whilst the professor's "assistants" gripped their shoulders, forcing them to walk at their pace. They passed through the eerie corridor, lined with many windows, showing the insides of different testing rooms. Lianna looked up to find herself completely revolted by what was happening. A young boy being beaten by one of the brutes that worked for the professor. Perhaps he was beaten because he couldn't do a certain task. Failure to complete a task almost always warranted punishment. Lianna continued to stare forward. She couldn't help but flinch every time she heard a scream or wail of despair as she kept moving straight ahead. They passed through white double doors to reveal the laboratory. Potions and other medical equipment were aligned along surfaces around the edges of the room. In the centre was a hospital-bed with straps meant for holding down the patient or some cases victim so experiments could be conducted. Lianna remained calm as she and Amara were put into two chairs that were pressed up against the far wall; the interrogation chairs. _

_The two girls were sat down and strapped into chairs, with restraints around their wrists and ankles, holding them down tightly. _

"_Leave us," the professor said to his assistants. As they vacated the lab, he grabbed a chair and sat directly in front of the young girls._

"_Lianna, come now, you've been here before. You know all I want is the answer."_

_Lianna eyed the professor, how could she answer him if she didn't know what was going on? He continued to talk._

"_The lifestream is a very complicated thing. After all, it is your birthplace. As you said to your comrade, you are special."_

_Lianna remained quiet. _

"_Indeed you are special, so special in fact that you were born as a gift. A sort of thank you to your parents for the sacrifices made for the planet. So a daughter was born."_

_She could see the smile he had on his face. It gave her a sick feeling to her stomach. He wasn't talking about Amara anymore, just her. And how dare he talk about her parents! She didn't know who or where they were and this...creature...spoke about them like he knew them better than anyone else. Sixteen years it had been since she had been taken away. Sixteen years she had been deprived of a family. Sixteen years of being held captive by this imbecile. Lianna fluttered her eyelids shut trying to keep the tears from falling, she knew that her parents would never see her again._

"_A gift so rare should be shared, wouldn't you agree?"_

_Amara kicked and screamed, she couldn't take it anymore, "You're horrible Hojo! We weren't chosen! We were stolen for your plans!"_

"_Amie-" but Lianna was interrupted by another outburst._

"_You stole us from our families and brought us to this god forsaken abandoned "so-called" children's centre so you could run experiments on us and make us do your dirty work...I hate you! You'll always be hated you filthy son of a bitch!"_

_Clearing his throat, professor Hojo carried on listening to the fifteen year old rant on before his assistants walked in. "Sedate her." _

_Amara screamed out as she felt the needle pierce into the skin of her neck. Lianna watched wide eyed as they unstrapped her best friend and placed her onto the medical bed. Slowly sinking into unconsciousness, Amara made out one last thing, "as I said, a gift so rare should be shared. You're special, therefore are different. Different is abnormal, abnormal is unwanted, anything unwanted belongs to me. You're parents deserve punishment, and what better punishment than the abduction of their children...they should learn not to be greedy and for that your parents and the planet will pay."' *_

Lianna shivered. Never again would they return to that hell hole. She needed to get Amara out before she ended up in a similar predicament as before. Lianna would have to die before that happened to them again.

* * *

><p>Cloud opened the cupboard and allowed Amara to climb out. He only looked at her. She stared back at the blue eyed man as she made her way out. The silence was unbearable.<p>

"Look, I didn't mean for things to get out of hand," Amara said, finally breaking the silence.

"You've...obviously been through something."

_A touch of sympathy?_ She thought.

"Tifa and I want to help you."

"Why?"

"Because, it's sort of what we do."

With that, Cloud turned and walked out the door, motioning her to follow him. They were back in Cloud's office. As she entered the room, Amara noticed a desk in front of her. She made her way over, and gazed at framed pictures. She looked at the group and family photo with a full heart. Amara knew that these people had friends, were making a family work and more importantly loved each other dearly. It made her smile until she realised that she could be the downfall of such happiness. Just because she went through peril doesn't mean she should inflict the same pain on them.

A bed spring made Amara turn attention toward Cloud.

"You can sleep here," he said as he put the extra sheets, a pillow and clean towels onto the mattress.

"Thank you for the hospitality, but I think I should go. I don't want to put your family through anymore trouble."

Understanding the young girls feelings, Cloud couldn't simply let her go. He wanted to help her. And she needed it whether she would admit it or not.

"Stay. It'll be better if you do."

"What makes you say that?" she asked curiously.

"Just."

"Just?" she repeated with a hint of cheekiness. She was beginning to feel comfortable around him.

"Yeah, you'll find you're safer and never alone when there are more people around you."

"You say it as if you've had personal experience?"

Cloud crinkled his brow then bore a small smile. This girl had hit it right on the nail. He began to walk out of the room before throwing over his shoulder, "Don't always try to be a lone wolf. Packs are always stronger."

* * *

><p>"This place is difficult to locate," Cydney whispered as she crouched next to Lianna, "so is she inside?<p>

"I'm guessing she is. Kaine stop fidgeting," Lianna frustratingly said.

"I can't help it. Ya know I get cramp in ma legs if I keep 'em bent for too long."

"Doesn't help that you're overly butch either," Cydney laughed.

"Shut yo' mouth!"

"Stop it guys, we're here for Amara remember."

Lianna continued to look inside, the lights suddenly switched off.

"Looks like they're asleep," said Cydney.

"I don't get it. If Amara was in trouble, wouldn' she have called us or somethin'," Kaine asked trying best to stretch his oversized legs.

"True," Lianna replied.

_She is safe..._

Lianna smiled inwardly as the planet told her that her best friend was safe for now.

"We should go and hide in the Midgar ruins. We'll return in the morning." Lianna started to get up and move away from the bar. Cydney followed shortly, kicking up a fuss, as usual.

"Wait, so let me get this straight, we're just going to leave her here, with strangers, in some bar, in an unknown city?" questioned Cydney.

"Yes."

Nodding her head, "alright, well I was just making sure."

"Great, now you two birds help me up," Kaine wailed. Cydney rolled her eyes sarcastically as Lianna sighed.

"Bloody heck, we're gana need a crane!" Cydney exclaimed as she tried to lift her heavy friend.

"Oh shut it woman!"

* * *

><p>'"<em>Tifa! Tifa, please..."<em>

"_Cloud, I'm sorry..."_

"_No! You can't leave me! After everything you can't..."_

"_I...I can't live without her...I love you..." _

"_TIFA!"'_

Cloud woke abruptly, clutching his chest with every whimpered breath he took, slowing regaining his natural breathing pattern. He turned to his left to find Tifa sound asleep next to him. It had only been a dream. A light layer of cold sweat coated his skin as he continued to inhale. Slowly, Cloud slipped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. Running the tap, he splashed cold water on his face, rinsing his skin clean. Grabbing a towel off the rack he wiped himself, as he looked into the mirror, his cerulean eyes stared back at him as he clutched the sides of the sink. He swallowed, reminiscing the dream...or nightmare. It had been surreal yet so real. Even more of a shock, it scared him, it seemed more of a vision rather than a dream.

There was Tifa. Lying there. Helpless. Not willing to carry on with her life. Him asking her to hold on. Not wanting her to leave him. But she refused to live if she couldn't live with her. If she died, then so did Tifa. How could he blame her? She couldn't live without her-

His thoughts were cut short as he felt a presence lurking behind him. He remained still as Tifa made her way over.

She simply stared at him, biting her bottom lip, trying to find the right thing to say. Cloud hadn't had bad dreams since the Sephiroth fighting days. They only returned when the remnants became a threat, but not everything was normal, well as normal as can be. Everything was alright now, wasn't it?

Tifa lightly brushed her hand over his, trying to soothe any pain.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, barely a whisper.

"...I don't know where to begin," he sighed.

"You know I'm always here for you. You can tell me anything." Blue sky met chocolate brown as he looked up at her. She was always so good to him, why couldn't he just be honest with her?

"I just..." he began.

"Cloud...?"

He sighed again. He didn't want to scare her. "Forget it. It was just a dream."

Tifa frowned, "How long is it going to take you for you to be honest with me?"

"Tifa-"

"No Cloud. I'm trying to be here for you, I am but...you make it so damn hard."

"Tifa..."

"I don't want to force it out of you." She brought her hands up to cradle his face, "when you're ready to tell me, you will. I believe that. Just promise me you won't take too long." Tifa lightly kissed his cheek and caressed the place where lip had met skin. She waited there momentarily as she inhaled his scent. She closed her eyes as she fixated on nothing but him. He made her feel so happy yet he continued to frustrate her. After everything that they had been through after the years, she thought he would be more open, more comfortable and a lot more confident around her. Tifa would just have to except that he was just Cloud and always will be. But would she love him any other way? Pulling away, she saw his eyes had closed too. She smiled softly before parting from him.

"I'm going back to bed. Join me when you're ready, okay?"

"Wait."

Tifa turned around to face Cloud.

"It was about you."

She could sense the emotion in his voice as he said it, the dream had troubled him.

"What happened?"

"You...gave up." He looked towards the floor, not wanting to face her and imagine her lying there again. Tifa's brow crinkled with concern.

"I gave up on what?" she asked as she moved closer to him.

"...Life."

Cloud heard her gasp a little. She was standing right in front of him now.

"I...died."

"...yeah. And there was nothing I could do."

"Cloud," she said as she put her hands on his arms, "it was only a dream. I'm right here."

"It felt so real." Tifa could see how broken he felt, as if he tried to save her but failed. She could see a part of him was shattered, deteriorating because she died. In that instance, she saw the love he had for her, snatched away from him in a matter of moments. It broke her heart.

"Cloud, listen to me. Nothing's going to happen alright. I'm okay and everything's fine. It was nothing but a nightmare." She ran her hands up and down his arms, trying to warm them. He had goose bumps and was slightly shivering. Cloud was pretty shook up and it scared her. He was her hero. _He must know that_ she thought. She would happily remind him. "You're my hero Cloud. I know you won't let anything happen to me. And I promise you that I won't give up. Never ever."

He hugged her tightly, holding her waist and pulling her in as closely as possible, never wanting to let her go. He kissed her hair and promised, "I swear nothing will happen to you."

* * *

><p>"What's up kid?" Cid Highwind asked as lit his cigarette. Despite what Tifa had said last night, he refused to let it go. Inside he felt that it was more than a dream, more like a vision that would come true, and Cloud was going to prevent it no matter the circumstances. He needed advice, and his friends, Cid, Barret and Vincent were his best chance. "Been a while since the last gatherin' aint it?" Cid said as he puffed.<p>

"Where's Tifa?" Vincent solemnly questioned, as he moved toward the table to take a seat next to Barret and Cid.

"In town with the kids and Yuffie," Cloud responded.

"What about the girl?" Vincent asked.

Cloud took the time to fill his other two comrades. About the young girl who had entered their lives and had already sent things spiralling into some kind of dramatic whirlwind.

"Geez Spike, why didn' you fill us in sooner? Coulda been a real help to ya?" Barret said, probing his young blonde friend. Cloud merely shrugged and shook his head. He didn't want to worry anyone with what seemed like such a petty problem at the time. Now it was a matter of finding out who the girl is and what she wants. "And I don' like the sound of this girly. She seems to be more trouble than ya bargained for."

"She's upstairs," said Cloud, signalling that they should keep quiet.

"She still 'ere?"

"Yeah...why?"

"Get rid of her spike. Why do you want som' niggling teenager ruining yo' family?"

"Because, Tifa wants to help her."

Barret rolled his eyes at the statement. Cloud would chop off his own leg if Tifa wanted it. When it came to Cloud Strife, anything Tifa wanted Cloud got.

"Movin on. What's this about some dream then 'ey?" Cid claimed, releasing a gust of smoke.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Cloud had forgotten that he had mentioned the whole dream scenario to his friends. It was difficult to talk about. Talking was hard in general, especially when it came to talking about his feelings. It also gave his good ol' buddies to take the mick, but once they understood the seriousness of the night terror, he had a feeling they would cut him some slack.

Taking a deep breath, Cloud spoke, "It was about Tifa."

The sudden sound of her name was enough to make the men go quiet. All attention was now on Cloud as he continued his dream. Once he had finished, he had left the men in awe.

"Damn," was all Barret had to say.

"Yeah mate. Didn' even know you'd proposed let alone discussed havin' kids, and now your havin' dreams about Tifa losing the baby. That's rough."

"Cid, we haven't spoken about that. We're not even close. Taking things slow," Cloud quickly interjected before any more wild accusations came up.

"Alright, keep your hair on. Just a pretty scary thing to be dreamin' about, don't you think?" he asked Cloud, as he watched the young swordsman pour them all another round of drinks.

"If ya ain' worried about that stuff yet, then what's got ya so worked up?" Barret threw in before Cloud could answer Cid's question. Vincent had merely listened intently as the three others carried on, taking a swig now and then from his drink.

"I'm worried, because...maybe one day it could happen for us. And I don't want anything to go wrong. Tifa's had enough pain for one lifetime, and I refuse to be the reason as to why she can't have a normal family." Cloud looked down, slightly anxious about what the others had to say. They remained quiet. It was weird to think that their youngest friend had thought about starting a real family of his own, even including young Denzel. Cloud was actually distraught and thought that maybe his own flaws may be the reason as to why Tifa might consider taking her own life when it came having a child, his child. What if it was his mako? What if it poisoned the baby or gave it disabilities. There were endless reasons as to why Cloud may be scared and what it may do to the future.

"Do you feel that Amara has something to do with this dream?" asked Vincent, finally breaking the silence.

"I don't know. But I don't want to take any risks," Cloud replied, sighing as he said it, she may have absolutely nothing to do with it, but he wasn't willing to take that chance.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Find out what Shinra wants with her first. Then see if I can get her home, or to wherever she belongs."

"We'll help in whatever way we can," Vincent said.

"Thanks."

"Ya know, if you want advice on kids, ask Mr. Highwind over 'ere," Barret chuckled as he nudged his mate, trying to lighten the mood.

"Piss off," Cid grumbled as he lit yet another cigarette.

"When's Shera due?"

"In a month. Now leave me alone, don't need to think about it till then, you hear! So shut your traps and hush up about it!"

"Cid to be a father, what a frightful thought," Vincent murmured with a hint of sarcasm in his deep voice, a small smile was just about present as he said it.

The four men laughed, drank and cheered together. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

Above, Amara sat on the last step, listening attentively. She closed her eyes and allowed the small teardrops to fall. She was the reason why Cloud thought their family was in danger. She was a threat, not only to Clouds family but to Tifa's life. Amara wiped the teardrop streaks from her face, she would no longer be a burden. She never asked them to help her in the first place. If Cloud wanted her gone, then she would go.

* * *

><p>"Oh Tifa, its lovely. Please get it, you never spoil yourself," Marlene exclaimed as Tifa came out of the dressing room wearing a beautiful light blue dress, that dare she say enhanced her shape a little more than usual.<p>

"You know Cloud's going to completely goo goo eyes for you if you wear that," Yuffie joked, although knew there was truth in what she said.

"It is pretty," Tifa said as she stared at herself in the full length mirror blushing slightly at Yuffie's comment, "its just that I don't really need it."

"Tifa, women never really need to have appealing clothes or make themselves look hot, its about what we want. And don't lie, you know you want it, make chocobo head drool!" Yuffie said as she winked at the dark haired woman.

"Urh, Yuffie, please don't talk about Cloud and Tifa. That's disgusting," Denzel said. He was completely bored out of his mind, he never signed up for shopping for dresses, food was a different story. "Tifa, please can we go. I want to spend time with Cloud."

"Sorry honey. Okay, let's go. Let me just get changed."

"So you're going to get it?" Yuffie asked, as she spoke to Tifa behind the closed curtain. Tifa came out a couple of minutes later, dressed in her usual attire, "I don't know. Is it worth it?" she said whilst she gave the dress another glance up and down. It was an enchanting thought to think that Cloud might actually find her attractive in this dress. After all, they were kind of dating, maybe moving past the stage of complete awkwardness to an actual relationship, but still it wasn't her to go buy dresses that really didn't need. She knew Cloud loved her for her, no matter what she wore.

"Go on Tifa, what harm could it –" Before Yuffie could finish, there was a bombardment of loud screaming from outside the store. Tifa dropped the dress and bolted towards the window. A black van had made its way outside the shops and out came people in black suits, fully armed.

"Turks," Tifa said to herself. What were they doing in town? Yuffie made her way over to witness the crime.

"How much do you wanna bet they're coming for us?"

Tifa didn't want to believe that they were coming for her but the Turks were making their way towards the shop. Guns aimed at the window.

"Come on, out back! Now."

Tifa grabbed Denzels hand whilst Yuffie tugged Marlene along. It wasn't long before the sound of shattering glass and piercing shrieks were heard from behind them. Even though Tifa would have wanted nothing more than to help everyone else, and give those Turks some serious ass kicking, she knew she had the children to protect. They were her main priority.

"For Gaia's sake! The door is locked!" Yuffie shouted as she pulled hard on the door handle. It wasn't budging, "having a fire exit locked surely can't be a good thing."

"Never mind, let's just find another way out," Tifa said.

Yuffie pulled Marlene onto her back as they ran after Tifa and Denzel.

"Where are you going Teef?"

"Let's get to the top."

"The roof? Then what, jump?"

"I'm just making this up as I go along."

* * *

><p>"Alright that's it!" Cydney yelled as she reached out to Kaine as he lay on the wooden floor of the sector 5 church, "stop snoring right now!"<p>

"Or what?" Kaine mumbled as he stretched, kicking Cydney in the side.

"Or your gana get it…your choice."

"Stop ya whinin woman and let a man get his beauty sleep."

"Beauty sleep? Ha, ain't enough hours in the day my friend."

Lianna smiled to herself as she heard her friends bickering amongst themselves. They truly knew how to jabber on about absolutely pointless things, yet seemed to lighten up her day. She continued to look upon the glistening water in the sunshine as the yellow and white petals floated around on the surface of the pool, creating an environment of absolute vitality and purity. There was something so familiar about this church, yet Lianna couldn't quite put her finger on it. She looked around the ruined church, the pews, the fallen chandelier and the ruined roof; it reminded her of…_home_. As she looked above, the suns rays poured through the gaps, she realised how silly that sounded. She'd never seen home in her entire life, none of them had, yet the familiarity of the place seemed to stream through her, lifting her spirits slightly. They would be alright, they always were.

"Hey, what's got you so giddy?" Cydney said as she approached Lianna, sitting beside her.

"..Nothing really. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Everything."

"Way to be specific," Cydney joked.

Lianna smiled at her friend.

"Umm Anna…"

"Yeah."

"I'm worried."

"What are you worried about?" asked Lianna.

"We don't usually interact or have anything to do with people of a different time. When we warp into the future, or the past or present…whatever but when we do, didn't you tell us a year ago that we shouldn't talk to anyone. You know build or make relationships because you know once you're attached its hard to let go, for the people we get close to and for us."

"…I know," Lianna replied with a sigh.

"So humour me? Why have we left Amie with those people when we could easily have gotten her out of there?"

"Because," she started to reply to think of a reason to justify her excuse for leaving Amara behind at the bar, "…because, Amara has had so much hurt, as have we all but she's been alone for a long time. Me, I've had the planet to reconcile with whenever I've felt alone. You and Kaine have always had each other as well. I know you're going to say that Amie has always had us and will continue to but we're not enough. She needs a family. She needs to feel what it's like so the cut across her heart can finally heal instead of getting deeper and deeper."

Cydney had nothing to say. She had never been given any perspective about Amara's life before, and having heard what she had she tried to understand. It was true, Amie had had it bad. Her childhood was miserable as she was experimented on almost everyday, asked to go on assignments for that disgusting Hojo, never allowed to have fun, never allowed to live. Her spirit had been broken time after time, yet she still managed to pull herself back up and give it another go. She was strong. She always would be.

The silence was suddenly broken, "when Amie was taken, her mother…her mother fell apart. It was awful. Their entire family collapsed," Lianna said, emotion filling her voice.

"Did that somehow affect Amie?" Cydney asked, completely intrigued.

Lianna looked at her friend, "Cydney, under a year ago we were time warped to that chocobo farm, you remember?" Cydney nodded in recognition, "it wasn't far from here."

Lianna sighed, how was she going to explain this?

"Time is a very confusing thing, especially when travelling through it. During some cases whilst time warping, we can go back to our past and actually see ourselves in an event that has taken place. When we went back to that chocobo farm, we had gone back to the time of Amie's birth…" Cydney let out a small gasp, "…and her abduction."

* * *

><p>Tifa pulled Denzel along behind her as they carried on up the stairs up towards the roof. If she could get the children and Yuffie safe, maybe she could go back and find out exactly why the Turks were after them.<p>

"Tifa," Denzel said breathlessly, "where are we going?"

"We need to get somewhere safe, okay?"

She continued to run upwards, coming up to the rooftop door. Before anyone could say anything, Tifa's foot collided with the door, sending it flying backward, allowing them to advance forward. The rooftop space was quite scarce without any really good hiding place.

"Shoot," Tifa said.

Beside the door there were some crates and boxes, probably from when the store had recent deliveries of some sort. She let go of Denzel's hand and began to makeshift a kind of shelter for the others.

"Tifa, what are you doing?" Yuffie asked, coming up beside her, "now is not the time to be making a playtime house! We need to ready ourselves to kick some serious butt. Those Shinra lap dogs won't know what hit them once Yuffie Kisaragi is finished with them-"

"Yuffie, I need you stay here with the kids," Tifa said cutting her short as she turned around to face her friend.

"What? No way, I'm going to fight with you. There's no way you're going into battle without me!"

"Yuffie, please. I need you to look after Marlene and Denzel. Please, if anything happened to them…I-I…"

"Alright, alright. I'll stay with the little nippers…but you better keep yourself safe you hear!"

"Thank you." Tifa encircled Yuffie into a quick hug before doing the same to the kids, telling them how much she loved them and that she would be back soon, before retreating back down the stairs, prepared to fight.

* * *

><p>:D<p>

I know I'm a tad bit evil for leaving it there but what's a story without a little cliff-hanger…I also know that the Turks helped Cloud and the gang in AC but hey, power in this case makes even the reformed turn all evil again haha. On the plus side, it was a nice _**LONG **_chapter XD

Thank you all for reading (: Stay tuned…next update will probably be soon!


	5. Chapter 5

HI!

I'm sorry for the very late update guys! I've had so many exams...4 exams left! But I wanted to post this..I think I've made you guys wait long enough! Sorry again! I hope you enjoy it (:

**Disclaimer**: All FFVII characters are property of square enix. I own nothing other than the creation of my own characters.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Only Time Will Tell <em>**

**_Chapter 5_**

* * *

><p>Amara did the bed up neatly and placed the book that Tifa had given her so she wouldn't be bored on top of the pillow, before walking out of Cloud's office. After listening to what Cloud had had to say, she didn't feel like intruding anymore. She quietly descended the stairs and poked her head around the corner. No one was sitting at the table where the four men had been earlier, discussing the issues at hand. She quietly moved away from the stair archway and made her way across the bar before a creak of the floorboards made her jump. She whirled around, blue meeting blue<p>

"Going somewhere?" Cloud asked as he made his way out of the backroom, wiping his hands with a towel. He'd obviously been doing some work on his motorcycle, the clear indication from the black marks on his face and arms.

Slightly baffled that she'd been caught, Amara sheepishly shrugged and shook her head, "Umm..no..I was just going outside to get some fresh air."

Cloud put the towel on the counter and moved forward, "You're not a very good liar."

No, Amara was not a good liar.

"So, why were you leaving?"

"I-I…" she sighed, "I refuse to be a burden to you anymore." Amara looked up, waiting to see his reaction. Cloud seemed calm, as if he had expected it?

"You're not a burden," he replied back casually.

Amara sighed again, "There's no need for you not to tell me the truth. I overheard you talking to your friends. You're scared that I might bring trouble to your family….or worse." Amara fumbled on the last part of that. To think that Cloud might actually think she would play a part in hurting Tifa was beyond her imagination.

Slightly taken aback by the young girls reasoning, he himself sighed as well, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I didn't mean it the way it must of come across."

"It's okay, honestly," Amara said with a small smile, "I was a sort of surprise to you and your family, and I don't want to cause you discomfort. You seem to have your own problems and I don't want to be another one to add to your list."

Cloud felt bad for Amara. She clearly had her fair share of problems and he had probably made her feel worse about herself. The last thing she needed was to be kicked out onto the street, in a strange city, with no real plan and to top it off, had the Shinra lackeys after her.

"No Amara, you're staying."

"But-"

"No…we told you we'd help you. So that's what I'm going to do."

Cloud gave Amara a light nod before moving behind the bar to head out the back again, most likely to tend back to Fenrir. As he moved towards the door, Amara said his name.

He turned around to answer her.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"Umm…well…I was just wondering if you were okay," she said awkwardly.

A little confused about what she was talking about he replied with, "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"I meant about the whole dream situation."

"Oh."

"Please don't think I was listening on purpose, it's just I heard you that night as well whilst you went to the bathroom, and well you know what its like when you're in a new place and don't know anyone, so I was just on high alert and couldn't get to sleep and I'm sorry, I know, that was rude of me to listen…" Cloud chuckled slightly as the young girl rambled on and on. She was quite likeable, he had to admit that, and to think that she hoped he was alright was nice. Just showed that the teenager did care. She continued to apologise before he finally interrupted her.

"Amara," his stern voice breaking her eruption of speech causing her to silence, "its okay and thank you. Its nice of you to care." He retreated to the back, leaving a very chuffed Amara in the bar. She felt happy for once and all thoughts of leaving suddenly departed.

* * *

><p>Tifa rushed down the stairs, back to inside of the store. She sighed to herself as she looked upon the room to find complete destruction. What in Gaia's name had made the Turks go so crazy? And they were doing all of this to capture her? It all seemed too farfetched. The sound of footsteps could then be heard. Tifa instantly went behind the counter, trying to hide away, as Reno and Rude entered.<p>

"You know, I'm kind of sick of all the mess we keep making," Reno said as he shoved some of the rubble with his foot, "It wasn't really necessary for Tseng to burst a hole through the wall was it? I mean we're only looking for Tifa."

Tifa's eyes widened at the sound of her name. They _were_ after her.

Rude gave a hostile sneer as they continued to look around.

"Ah co'mon Rude, its not like we're going to hurt her. It's just like Tseng said, capture her alive. If he wanted her dead he would have done it by now."

"Doesn't make the situation any better," Rude snapped back as they pushed on forward.

"Co'mon man, its just a little leverage," Tifa listened more intently, "As soon as Strife gives up that girl, we'll stop annoying him and his family."

_Amara_ Tifa thought. What was so special about this girl?

Tifa peered over the top of the counter before making her way from behind it to get a better view of what the Turks had done. She moved toward the window and found several black suited men waiting outside near a black van. The strange thing was that no one was moving, it was like they were waiting for something to happen…

"Well well well," a feminine voice interjected Tifas' thoughts, "Turns out your not so smart after all."

"Elena," sneered Tifa, as she turned to meet the eyes of the fiery blonde woman.

"You know Tifa, the least you could do is hide when someone is trying to capture you, otherwise the game is no fun. No fun at all."

"What sick game are you playing now?" Tifa spat, "And what do you want from me?"

"Always the stupid and unimportant questions with you. You know exactly what we want," Elena replied as she started slowly making her way towards Tifa. Tifa lowered her gaze and fixated her eyes on the electromagnetic rod in Elena's left hand. If a fight was want Elena wanted, then a fight was what the Turk was going to get.

* * *

><p>"Y'know this place ain't so bad," Kaine said as he stretched his legs, making his way over towards his friends, "I could see myself livin' 'ere."<p>

Cydney shook her head, allowing a small smile to creep on her lips. Kaine was always the optimist. "I wish we could finally live," she sighed, bringing her legs up, cradling them to her chest. Kaine took a few steps forward, settling himself next to his companion.

"Who knows, one day we might do."

If only life were that fair.

Lianna pushed herself backward, splaying herself across the wooden flooring. As the suns rays continued to pour in through the morning sky, Lianna took in the surrounding beauty of the church. As she gazed upon the ruined ceiling, a shimmering light could be seen, shining brightly creating cascading diamond effects all around the area. She abruptly sat up and looked straight ahead. A sword? Ignoring the confused faces of her friends, she walked around the pool of water to the place where the sword was resting. Rust had collected within the nooks and crannies of the swords craftsmanship, yet still appeared worthy enough for a….soldier. Lianna's brow crinkled, soldier? Why did that seem so familiar? The sudden remembrance brought her hand up to touch the sword. She traced the contours of the magnificent weapon trying to allow her memory to recollect the journey the blade had been through. It had seen blood, a lot of blood, yet helped mark a hero. Helped give his honour. Helped give his dreams. It had an amazing story behind it. Lianna smiled to herself…_wonder what this hero was like?_

* * *

><p>Tifa dodged passed Elena's attack moving across the room. She side stepped, once again throwing the Turk off course, the electromagnetic rod missing her by a small amount. Tifa ran to the opposite side of the room, trying to pull out her black leather gloves, if she didn't fight back then she would get hurt. So much for thinking she could take her down with one kick, the Turk was a lot stronger than the bar maid thought. Sliding her gloves over hands, Tifa turned swiftly missing yet another blow to the face. Elena was persistent as she kept throwing attacks at the young fighter. This was the Turk's time to prove that she wasn't incapable and that she could bring down the former AVALANCHE member. Tifa was about to deliver an awesome upper cut kick towards Elena until she was suddenly knocked backwards by a powerful punch hard in the stomach. Slightly winded, Tifa struggled to stand up. The blow had come as such as surprise. Defenceless, Elena took it as her chance to bring Tifa down once and for all.<p>

"Elena, stop" Rude shouted, throwing Elena off, "Don't hurt her anymore."

Elena glared back at her co-worker. Why shouldn't she? She looked down upon Tifa who tried to stand up, holding her arms around her stomach trying to soothe the pain that had hit her hard there. Their eyes locked on once again and Tifa sneered, "Come on then, finish the job."

Rude pushed past Elena, leaning next to Tifa. He put his arm around Tifa's waist lifting her up, helping her regain her balance. Tifa could feel the pain on her side. She sighed to herself, after all her years of fighting she thought that a minor battle with the Turk would be easy, she'd underestimated her resulting in her injury. Her misjudgement meant her capture. But maybe being captured wasn't such a bad thing…

Once Rude knew that Tifa was able to stand by herself, he moved away, grabbing Elena.

"There was no need for that."

Elena rolled her eyes, "If she's supposedly as great as she is then why didn't she defend herself better."

"It doesn't matter. We have strict orders and those orders were not to hurt her."

"So are we taking her in or not?"

Rude looked over his shoulder. Seeing Tifa holding her aching side made the guilt inside rise to an even higher level. He sighed to himself, all of this because Shinra needed leverage over Strife.

"Yes. We're taking her in."

* * *

><p>Cloud had told her not to wander off too far as the Turks would undoubtedly still be searching for her. Amara had agreed and was now casually walking around the streets of Edge. It was strange. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in one place for such a long time. Normally the light would have taken her in again to a new destination. Ever since she and her friends had left Hojo and his crew of evil specialists, they'd had no control over their time warping. Merely waited around for a short period of time before it happened again, but this time it had been different. Amara crinkled her brow as she carried on down the street, there had never been any time to make any new relationships, only now she had people that seemed to care. What was even more weird was that now she was starting to feel the same for them. Caring is a scary phenomenon especially for her. Being a time warper doesn't allow you to have feelings as there would be no point. You'd care and then suddenly you'd be taken away, that is one of the hardest things; to have something only for it to be taken away just as quickly as it had come. Amara had sworn that she would never do that to herself again. Caring only led to being hurt in the end but for some reason Amara felt compelled to be closer to these people. They'd shown her kindness, comfort and in some respect, love. It would be difficult to leave this place. It would be hard to leave them and never return.<p>

Amara's thought process was suddenly broken as a herd of people came rushing down the street. Most of them screaming and wailing. Amara began to run as she rushed towards the scene of the antics. People warned her not to go but she still kept running. Her curiosity getting the best of her, one of her more annoying attributes. She continued to trek forward turning a corner sharply only to be faced with blacks vans and a numerous amount of people dressed in black suits. Amara backed away slowing, tucking herself behind the corner of the wall so she was able to peer around. What were they doing here?

_What were they called again? _

Turks.

Weren't these the same people that were after her?

She kept her eyes fixated on one man who held a phone to his ear, listening intently. The impeccable hearing made spying a whole lot easier.

"Right. They're bringing her out," the Turk said as he made his way over to the back of a van, unlocking the doors. Amara made her way forward, crouching down, trying her best to keep out of sight. Hiding behind a trash can seemed to be her best bet at the moment. The Turks seemed to be interested in something coming through the building on the right hand side of the vans. Amara peered over the top of the can. Someone was being dragged along behind a bald man, and he was in a suit. _Wait, the same guy who attacked me at the church? _Was this all an arrest of some sort? The 'prisoner' was a woman. Amara's eyes widened with shock.

Tifa.

* * *

><p>Yuffie ran with the two children along side of her. She'd promised Tifa that she'd keep them safe and that's what she intended to do. After witnessing Tifa being man handled by those Shinra scum, Yuffie couldn't understand why she gave up so quickly. Tifa was stronger than that surely. She'd fought along side Cloud and the others to defeat Sephiroth. She was tough and no one would ever underestimate her fighting skills yet she gave up?<p>

"Yuffie! What about Tifa?" Denzel yelled as he tried to keep up, panting heavily.

"Tifa's strong, she'd want you guys safe before us saving her," she replied.

"But the men in the black suits are going to take her away," Marlene cried, the tears were on the very verge of falling. Yuffie didn't want to worry them, so she kept quiet and still ran, if they could reach Cloud then they could get to the bottom of this and save Tifa.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, Seventh Heaven was finally in reaching distance. Yuffie didn't care for formalities, and so the bars door was broken down allowing them to pass through the threshold.

"Cloud!" Denzel shouted.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Barret wailed as he made his way out from the back. Marlene ran into her fathers arms, seeking comfort. "Yuffie, what's happened?" he asked.

Yuffie gasped for breath, "those stupid Turk freaks took Tifa!"

"What!"

"Are you deaf you cyborg? I said the Turks took Tifa!…Where the heck is Cloud?"

"Deliveries. Marlene, you and Denzel go upstairs alright. We'll come check on ya in a bit, okay baby?"

"Ok daddy." As soon as Marlene and Denzel were out of sight, Barret went into one.

"What the hell is goin' on Yuffs? Whatcha mean they've taken Tifa?"

"What do you mean what do I mean? I mean they've taken her, she's their prisoner, hostage, victim, Shinra's personal toy, call it what ever you want big guy."

"Why didn' ya help her?"

"Because Tifa was being Tifa and asked me to get the kids out safely!"

Barret couldn't argue with that logic. "Better let Spiky know what's happenin'."

"And what do we do in the mean time? Let Tifa go with those brainless dead beats?" Yuffie yelled.

"She's tough, she'll hang in there till we can reach her."

* * *

><p>Rude placed Tifa in the back of the van carefully, not wanting to hurt her. Making sure that she was settled onto the seat as he moved in to sit directly opposite her before saying, "I'm sorry about all of this."<p>

Tifa could tell he was being genuine but that didn't change the fact that she was now a captive - even though it was all a plan to find out what Shinra wanted, she still felt that slight dread about what was going to happen. There was far too much commotion for it all to be about just one teenager?

After a long pause and sigh from Rude, Tifa spoke, "What's so special about her?"

Rude looked up at Tifa over his glasses. He himself didn't know why the boss wanted her so badly. He never questioned, he just did what he was told and carried on, part of being a loyal subject to the great Shinra. "Honestly…I have no idea." And with that he left.

Amara quickly manoeuvred her way in and out of being seen by the Turks. She'd managed to get close enough to see who was guarding the back of the van where Tifa was. It appeared to be that same blonde woman who had threatened Tifa back at Seventh Heaven…what was her name…Elaine? Eleanor?…Elena! That was it. _Boy, did that woman need a slap? _she thought as she jumped down on all fours and started crawling underneath the van. Stealth was something that Amara had had many years practicing, and once underneath, a smug smile was displayed on her face knowing that she had some impressive skills. _Not bad Amara, not bad at all. _Her victory of not being discovered was short lived as the van started its engine.

Shit.

Still in a lying position, Amara looked toward the back of the van where she could see Elena's feet making its way to the front of the van, if she didn't move now, she'd get left behind or worse…crushed.

_Co'mon Amie, move, move…MOVE!_

So she moved quickly to the back, twisted so that she was now looking face up and grabbed tail end of the van pressing her feet up onto the bottom and held a death grip so she wouldn't fall as the van pushed off.

Her strength was weakening as the movement became more abrupt, the bumps were pure torture. She held on as tightly as possible and as soon as the van came to a halt, she dropped her feet pulled with all her might and slid her way out from under the van. Amara quickly grabbed the door handle of the back doors, and was flung inside with great force as the van sped off again.

"For flips sake that hurt!" Amara silently shouted as she rubbed the back of head, where the impact had hurt most.

"Amara?" Tifa's voice said quietly.

It was dark inside, with only a little bit of light coming from the front driver's area and two small windows on the back doors. Amara made sure to keep kneeled down as she made her way over to where Tifa was sitting.

"Hey Tifa," whispered Amara.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought that was pretty obvious."

Tifa shook her head, "the only thing that's obvious is that you've given the Turks exactly what they wanted, what's even worse you did it voluntarily."

"I wanted to help you which confuses me considering you're supposed to be a fighter."

Tifa cocked her head in surprised curiosity, how did she know she fought?

Understanding the silent bewilderment Amara answered "The kids told me all about you and Cloud and how you're the saviours of the planet. Maybe you can explain the rest to me later."

Tifa nodded and smiled a little herself.

Interrupting the quietness, "So why exactly did you allow yourself to be caught? Doesn't seem like you," Amara questioned.

"I wanted to find out what Shinra wanted with you. I was trying to help you."

"By allowing yourself to be caught?" Amara puzzled.

"It wasn't my best moment, but its all I could think about at the time, I want to help you Amie," Tifa said with a small smile.

Amara's heart soared for a short while before she realised that Tifa had turned herself in for her. A total stranger who had just brought more trouble to Tifa and her family. It wasn't fair and she wouldn't allow anything more to happen to her.

"You need to get out," Amara said sadly.

Slightly stunned, Tifa replied, "No. I'm staying, I want to help."

_Damn her niceness._

"Tifa, you've been more helpful than ever imaginable and thank you so much for all you've done but I can't let you do anymore. You have a family and Cloud who loves you. Nothing can ever happen to you especially because of me."

Tifa stared at Amara for a moment, trying to understand her, trying to feel what she felt. This young adolescent was alone and in need of love. A feeling that Tifa knew all too well. She too had lost her parents at a young age. It is one of the most devastating things in the entire world, like you felt that a part of you had gone along with them and there was no way of ever getting it back. A light bump in the road brought Tifa away from her morbid thinking to thoughts of those who did care and who surrounded her with joy now and how lucky and blessed she truly was. That was all Amara needed, to know that she could have someone to rely on.

Tifa brought her hand to push a strand of Amara's jet black hair behind her ear. Their eyes locked and familiarity crept through Tifa as she searched those cerulean eyes, so full of pain. There was something special about her, and Tifa was going to find out what it was. Tifa finally spoke.

"Amie, you're right, I have people who care and that is all you will ever need in life. People who will be there to save you and point you in the right direction whenever things go pear shaped," she placed both of her hands on Amara's face turning toward her, "but I want to be that for you. You seem to have no one who truly cares." Amara wanted to say that she was wrong, and that she did have friends who loved and cared about her but she couldn't bring herself to say it. At that moment she left loved and adored by a woman who had shown her every ounce of kindness in one's entire being and felt like she'd found what she was missing. "I want…need to help you Amie. You have to allow me to do that, okay?"

Amara enclosed the space between them and Tifa put her arms around her in a motherly embrace. "Alright," Amara answered as she hugged Tifa tightly.

At that moment, there was nothing wrong.

* * *

><p>"Where do you think they're taking us?" Amara asked.<p>

"Probably to Healin Lodge. It's where Rufus Shinra resides at the moment," replied Tifa.

They're conversation had been interrupted by a powerful swerve as the van turned a sharp corner at high speed.

"What the-" Tifa stopped as she heard the fierce rumble of a motorcycle catching up to them. She would know that sound from a mile away…Fenrir, which meant, "Cloud!"

Amara got up and peered _through_ one of the tiny boxed windows on one of the back doors and saw spiked blonde hair along with fierce blue eyes charging his way up the road, gaining incredible speed on fenrir. Amara could feel his anger run right down her spine. It didn't take a genius to guess that Cloud Strife was pissed.

Inhaling rapidly, "He's mad," Amara said, stiffening at the thought.

Tifa smirked, "Damn right he is."

You never take a hero's girl, never.

Tifa and Amara were knocked yet again against the side of the van as the vehicle made another swift turn. The Turks weren't ready to surrender.

Amara sat up, rubbing the side of her arm, "You know, these guys don't seem to understand when to quit." Rubbing the dirt off of her leather shorts Tifa replied, "Well, you must be very important."

"No kidding," Amara said sarcastically. _Yet again, being a time warper has made my life just so darn dandy!_ she thought. That had to be the only explanation as to why Shinra wanted her so badly; so they could find out exactly what she was and find a way of using her powers.

"Ha, good luck," Amara said quietly out loud. If she couldn't work them out, then sure as hell these Shinra goons wouldn't be able to.

A loud screech was made and the van swerved around a sharp bend, gaining even more speed.

"If they don't slow down we're going to crash!" Amara screamed as she looked over the toward the drivers area, the speed was ridiculous, they were going to get them all killed. Knowing the voice hadn't been Tifa's, Rude turned abruptly finding himself looking at the one and only fugitive that had caused so much trouble.

"The girl! She's in the van!" Rude shouted.

"Ah crap!"

* * *

><p>"Kaine! Focus will you!" Lianna yelled looking over her shoulder as the other car that they'd almost crashed into went straight into a road sign.<p>

"Yeah pinhead, what use are we if we're dead!" shouted Cydney.

"Quit ya whinin' girlies!" he retorted. After knocking out a couple of people, stealing the grey Chevy truck and going on rampage in order to save his friend - driving safely was the last thing on his mind. "Ya wanna get to Amara or what?"

"Why would she do something so reckless?" Lianna sighed, "Doesn't she have any regard for her own safety! It's always about others with that girl!" She ran a hand through her hair and sighed again, frustrated.

Cydney reached over and placed a hand of her friends shoulder, "Would we love her any other way?"

Lianna rolled her eyes but her mouth still quirked up at the corners, "I suppose not…silly girl."

Kaine put his foot down, pushing the truck to a whole new level of speed, rounding sharp bends with unearthly force making the tyres screech. They needed to reach Amara fast.

After a couple more minutes of death driving, a motorcycle and a black van became visible. Cydney excitedly pointed and shouted "There they are!"

"Kaine, get close enough so I can get a good enough shot!" Lianna shouted as she reached underneath her seat and pulled out a gun. Cydney's eyes widened, "And what exactly are you going to do with that 'ey? Shoot the bastards! You're no killer Anna!"

Lianna shook her head and began to roll down the window, "No, I need it to get a shot at the back doors of the van to unlock it and get Amara out!"

"Where did you even get a gun from?"

"Cyd, what you don't know can't hurt you," Lianna replied with a slight tinge of sarcasm.

_Be warned, someone else is with your dear friend. Someone important to her…_

Lianna listened to the planet.

_I will protect them both_ she replied in her mind.

* * *

><p>Cloud pushed Fenrir even further as he came racing around another corner trying to reach the drivers area to get a good enough swing with his sword.<p>

Once he'd returned home, he'd been bombarded by Yuffie, the kids and Barrett, telling him that the Turks had taken Tifa. That was all he needed to hear before taking his keys yet again, climbing onto his bike and speeding off like there was no tomorrow. He knew the Turks couldn't be trusted. Shinra couldn't be trusted, and now they were using Tifa to get to him. There was a line and they had crossed it. Cloud could feel his blood boiling beneath his skin as he pushed on the gas even more. How dare they? Did they really think that he wouldn't come after them? That he wouldn't pummel them to the ground for laying their hands on Tifa. But he knew that was the idea, to get to him, to make sure he would co-operate. They knew just how to push his buttons.

As if he didn't have enough problems, Cloud looked through his goggles, over his shoulder to see a grey truck following closely behind, reaching the same speed as him.

_Now what! _he thought.

Momentarily dumbfounded at what the truck was doing, he slowed down and watched as the truck moved to left side of the van. The window was being rolled down as a young girl with long brown hair, plaited into a braid, climbed out and moved to the roof of the grey vehicle, pointing a gun straight at the van.

"What the-" Cloud had no time to react as the girl began shooting. The bullets seem to ricochet off of the van straight for his Fenrir. He swerved, dodging the bullets to ensure no damage came to his tyres. What the hell was this teenager doing? Were she and her accomplices thieves looking for some decent bounty to sell? Cloud scratched that assumption from his head, how would they have known to follow them?

The girl took another shot this time denting the side of the van. She was trying to aim for the door's lock.

Cloud saw the girl reach in the window whilst someone else handed her more bullets, whilst reloading the gun, he saw another girl poke her head out, yelling at her, "Will ya aim better! For Gaia's sake Lianna, Amara ain't gana wait forever!"

Amara? She was in the van with Tifa.

Shit.

That meant that these _kids _were friends of hers.

Wasting no more time, as the girl reloaded the gun, Cloud got closer to the back of the van. Grabbing his sword from his back harness, he lunged for the doors hinges effectively throwing the door off of the van revealing Tifa and Amara.

"Cloud!" Tifa shouted as they swerved another bend, the force of it sending her and Amara flying onto all fours. Amara was overwhelmed to see her comrades again, she was so relieved that they were alright, but they were risking their lives to try and save her. Cydney and Lianna screamed Amara's name, causing her to regain focus, as a bald man with dark shady glasses tried to yank her inside the van through the window near the drivers area.

"Get off!" Amara yelled as he pulled on her arm hard, a feeling of déjà vu running through her. Tifa punched Rude's hand hard, allowing Amara to get free. She felt a slight remorse for the Turk but quickly went to Amara's aid.

"We need to get off this van now!"

Amara agreed as they both stood at the end of the vans end. The speed that they were travelling at was way too fast. If they tried to jump and missed that would mean severe damage or even worse.

Cloud tried to push Fenrir as close as possible to the van to allow Tifa to jump behind him. He knew that he would only be able to save Tifa. He just hoped that Amara's friends would get to her safely. Having the same mentality as Cloud, Kaine moved the truck closer so that Amara would be able to hold on to either Lianna's or Cydney's arm, allowing them to hoist her into the van.

Tifa looked toward Amara. Her heart was beating incredibly fast. She could hear Cloud shouting her name telling her to jump but what if Amara wasn't able to get away. Sensing what Tifa was feeling, she took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze - a silent way of saying that they were going to be alright.

"Tifa!" Cloud cried again, "Jump! NOW!"

Tifa took that as her cue and jumped gracefully, reaching and grabbing Clouds arm tightly as he swung her around so that her leg came behind him as she tied her arms around his neck to be seated behind him safely. She tightened her hold around him and kissed his neck and whispered 'thank you' in his ear. Cloud slowed down a small fraction as him and Tifa watched Amara's next move.

Amara smiled as she saw Tifa make it to safety.

"My turn."

Lianna reached out as far as she could to lend her hand to Amara. Just as she was about to take a running jump, the red headed Turk came through the sun roof of the van pushing her back. "Ain't going anywhere sweetheart," Reno said as he held his electro-magnetic rod above her.

Tired of being pushed around Amara yelled, "Wanna bet!" scissor kicked at his legs and made a dive off of the van, clutching at Lianna's arm. Using her feet as an anchor she placed them on the side of the door, allowed Lianna to pull her up and then feet first pushed herself through the trucks window. As soon as Amara was safely inside, Kaine pushed hard on the brakes, turned the wheel and made a break for it in the other direction, slamming on the gas hard. After witnessing the entire event, Cloud did the same and turned Fenrir around.

Once Reno found his balance, he could only see the motorcycle and the truck moving off with great speed in the opposite direction, growing smaller as the distance increased between them. He slapped his hand hard against his forehead, realising that he'd been screwed over yet again by a sixteen year old girl.

"…shit."

* * *

><p>Hopefully you all liked it (: action-packed chapter me thinks!<p>

Please review, you make it all the more worth writing.

OH and the line drawings of my characters are up on deviantart (: link can be found on my page! Thanks guys!


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